At two years of age while watching “The Beauty and the Beast,” I sounded out the onomatopoeic sounds of the falling dishes, while the words flashed on the screen, “Crash, clash, clang.” My mother grew up in Puerto Rico and learned English as a second language as an adult. She knew the value of audiovisual exposure from an early age in learning a language. From an early age, my parents instilled in me the importance of learning by providing a stimulating environment and preparing me for academic success.

My parents were both the first members in their families to attend college. My parents know the value of a higher level education and expect me to do well and achieve scholastically. Parental support, however, does not always translate into societal support.

My immersion in the Southern culture as a child was not always particularly conducive to learning. When I was in elementary school, I was ostracized as a student by my peers. Because I was “different” in the academic sense, I was bullied in many forms. I was called a loser because I did well on tests or pushed down at recess because I did not speak colloquially. I took these things in stride. I understood I was different and that our views simply conflicted. However, I was one of the few who acknowledged my view in the first place. Where I am from, the society is centered about instant gratification, pleasure, simply hedonism in general. Being from New Orleans, we preach “Laissez le bon temp rouler,” and worry about life’s problems later. I did not mesh together with this philosophy, however. The future was always pertinent and constant pleasure was not truly pleasure in my eyes. This difference in perspectives left me out to dry as a young child, and it was not until I attended my current school was I finally able to feel intellectually accepted.

When I was in middle school, my reading teacher, Ms. Durand, suggested that I applied to a magnet school so that I could belong to a community and foster personal academic progress. I had never heard of a magnet school, and doubted if I could get in. She pushed the issue further and I applied and was accepted. Ms. Durand changed my life that day, because from that moment on, I was respected as an individual at this new school. I was able to express myself for who I was, not for who I was forced to be. I gained the support of friends, teachers, and most importantly, myself, and I truly began to flourish in this stimulating environment.

Academic Games is a perfect example of my growth as a student. Academic Games is a competition-based organization where players contest one another intellectually in various sorts of games based on core subject matter in school. The coach, Ms. Gamble, along with the veteran players, trained me and I even qualified for the National competition my first year, a rare feat. I loved the challenge my peers presented as intellectual equals, forcing me to push my mental boundaries further. My second year, I was able to join the team of veterans, and ever since then, we never looked back. We were not only able to succeed on the National level, but on the local level, transforming Academic Games into a community-based organization that nurtures healthy competition and intellectual inquiry in young children.

I now volunteer at my brother’s school for Academic Games. I work with the head coach, teaching the children the basics of Math, English, and Social Studies. Watching these children develop into bright, erudite “thinkers” is a blessing. The competitiveness they exude and passion for understanding and learning has drawn in more children to participate. Twenty students are now participating, upwards from about nine the previous year. My brother and another girl, Alexis, were able to qualify for Nationals last year. This year, we hope to have at least five qualify, so that we can have an entire team. Through Academic Games, I have found that my niche, the quality that allows me to “mesh” together with my community, is serving others. Watching these children grow as I have and still do entailed a sense of gratification that allowed me to overcome any challenges I have faced in high school, such as prioritizing my time in this rigorous environment while simultaneously serving those who need my assistance.

Throughout my life, I have surmounted trials and opposition, whether they were societal pressures or academic challenges. I was able to achieve and in turn, help others achieve, not only because of the support my family and friends gave, but in spite of the culture and environment where I grew up. Now, my aspirations are to continue serving and supporting others, how I eventually was.